The Winchester Tapes (TV series episode)
The Winchester Tapes was the 128th episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H. The episode, which was the fifth episode of Season 6, was written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell and directed by Burt Metcalfe. It originally aired on October 18, 1977. Storyline Charles tells the story of the 4077th through his eyes in a tape to his parents back home. Full episode summary The newly-arrived Major Winchester dictates a letter home to his parents, telling them about the 4077th and its deplorable conditions. Hawkeye, presented with an unexpected opportunity to spend a weekend in Tokyo with a nurse, begs Winchester to take his Officer of the Day duty for him. At first Winchester refuses but after a bout of pathetic begging, he relents. He agrees to sit for a painting by Col. Potter, and subtly tries to suggest Potter transfer him back to Tokyo. After that fails, he flat out demands to be transferred, leading Potter to bark at him that that's not going to happen. Seeing that Radar carries a lot of weight in the unit, he tries to butter him up a bit so Radar will patch a call through to Col. Baldwin in Tokyo for him. Despite the gift of a case of Grape Nehi, Radar says he's not allowed on Col. Potter's orders. Winchester, furious, takes back the Grape Nehi. He also tells his parents about Margaret (who he seems to have some sort of flirtation with, only for it to fall apart awkwardly), Father Mulcahy, and B.J., who was "touched" by Winchester's sudden loss of weight over the last few weeks. What Winchester doesn't realize is this is an elaborate practical joke on B.J.'s part - he swapped out Winchester's pants with those of a fatter man's, making Winchester think he's lost weight. Then, after getting him to gorge on food for a month, they swap out the pants again for a skinnier man's, making Winchester think he's gained a ton of weight. Winchester, concerned about his weight gain, jogs out of the Swamp to get some exercise, delighting Hawkeye and B.J. to no end. B.J. reveals that he has further plans for this prank- telling Hawkeye "Starting tomorrow, Charles gets taller!" After a long session in O.R. (where he receives grief for taking too long with each patient), Winchester wraps up his recording. As he does so, he pours himself a cup of tea. But when no hot water comes out of his kettle, he stops recording to open the lid. Pulling out the kettle's contents - a rubber chicken - he concludes the letter with a passionate "Get me the hell out of here!" Research note/Fun facts *Winchester mentions to Klinger that his nephew Felix was discharged from the Army for experiencing fainting spells. By definition, a nephew is the male child of your blood sibling or your spouse's sibling. As Charles and his only living adult sibling (his sister Honoria) are both single, it's unclear how he could have a nephew. *The 4077th has a cockroach collection which takes an hour to see. *Winchester's descriptions of his colleagues: **Myopic farm boy - Radar **Tough, bandy-legged mustang - Col. Potter **Would-be Lothario - Hawkeye **Relatively inoffensive chap although he was born, raised, and studied in...California ''- B.J. **Transvestite corporal with dreadful taste in clothes - Klinger **Head nurse who is part seductress and part Attila the Hun - Margaret **Spiritual guide through this Oriental purgatory, cock-eyed optimist who sounds like Dennis Day - Father Mulcahy *The title is taken from a popular movie about tape recordings by law enforcement agencies during a building robbery - ''The Anderson Tapes. Guest stars/Recurring cast *Thomas Carter as Patient McLeod *Kimiko Hiroshige as Korean Woman External links *[http://www.tv.com/shows/mash/the-winchester-tapes-43327/ M*A*S*H episode The Winchester Tapes at TV.com] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0638460/ M*A*S*H episode The Winchester Tapes at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)] Category:Season 6 episodes